A black and white photo of two stacked metal blocks with foam oozing between them.

Mid Mod Dreamhouse

2025

Mattel’s Barbie Chelsea Can Be campaign is a series of toys that teaches girls that they can choose any career in life. It accomplishes this goal by planting ideas like Rock Star, Pilot, and even Astronomer. Mid Mod Dreamhouse meets a gap in the series: Barbie Chelsea can be a Designer.
Man petting a dog with boxes in background
Man petting a dog with boxes in background
Man petting a dog with boxes in background
A team of designers approached the problem from a historic perspective. The Mid-Century Modernism movement was chosen because in a simple way, it conveys design as product, practice, and creative synthesis. For this reason, the team chose to put 40s-60s design in front of the eyes of a young audience. While playing with their toysets, young girls will have come into contact with architecture, furniture artifacts, illustration, fashion design, music, and abstract ideas like modular play.  The first piece in the set is a dreamhouse with interchangable slide-in walls, Mid-Mod furnishings, and a button installed that plays historic music. Included with this is a storybook about design, two dolls that match the characters in the story, and an instructions manual. A second collectible featuring Chelsea as a designer is sold separately.
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Caroline Davis: Packaging design, music composition, prototyping

Madi Green: Instruction manual design, print production, copywriting, photography

Lydia Meadows: Illustration, copywriting, doll garment design & production

Noah Rigsby: Mid Mod Dreamhouse design & furniture production